SWOT analysis Draft version Photonics21 work group 1 SWOT analysis

SWOT 1/3 Strengths Leading telecom companies (operators & manufacturers) in Europe Companies already operating on a global scale Good track records of cooperation between European companies and Japanese ones Opportunities for the development of pre/competitive technologies Strong competence on materials and components science Significant world market Weaknesses Cost competitiveness for European products Language and cultural barriers to Asia Non-uniform standards APAC is more agile Global companies may shift activities to APAC if EU system not supportive

SWOT 2/3 Opportunities Strong competence and technologies Strong research and pre-competitive technologies Good market Become more dynamic Application and solution ecosystems Good cross-link between research institutes Good national funding structures Leverage new east European production Threats Know-how transfer from Europe to Asia Open standardization know how and market competence allowing APAC companies entry into Europe Growing share of Asian suppliers Weak protection from patent and IPR in general

SWOT 3/3 To balance weaknesses the following actions are recommended: Large scale demonstration actions involving Universities, Research institutes, component suppliers and equipment vendors Ensure research cooperation within Europe Clever focus on standard and IPR protection Increase sponsorship on photonics for telecom which is facing inflection points requiring high investments Create a link with electronic industry which is creating next generation photonic systems In view of the SWOT-analysis it is strongly recommended: internationalization of R&D should be actively pursued